NY Jets Head Coach Adam Gase (9.11.19)
NY Jets Head Coach Adam Gase:
On the benefit of NY Jets defensive coordinator Gregg Williams facing his old team:
“Really, it is him knowing the personnel or at least the guys that are still there. I think that anytime you are with players and you kind of know them well enough where you have been in game action with them, you have an idea of strengths, weaknesses and things like that. Sometimes it is irrelevant, but sometimes it does help and certain situations you may know some things that bother them or certain things that they are not as good as what you might not know if you are not with them.”
On if Williams has an advantage facing QB Baker Mayfield:
“I do not know what you can really say if it is any kind of advantage. Being with him as a rookie, there is a big jump in development a lot of times between the first and second year. Baker has seen more since when they first started. When you play against a guy, sometimes in that spot it could be difficult because you can call a certain defense, but at the end of the day, it is about players making plays.”
On how the NY Jets defense can look to control Mayfield on Monday:
“I think it is hard to say that you can control any quarterback that has ability to make all the throws, is mobile and does a good job finding completions, especially the guys that he is playing with. Really, it is about trying to do a good job of creating pressure, making him uncomfortable and trying to force turnovers. It is basically what every defense tries to do to almost every quarterback.”
On competing against WR Jarvis Landry, who he was with in Miami:
“It will probably be weird just being on the other sideline. Going two years, we had a pretty good run there in Miami. He had a lot of success. He did a good job. There was a lot of positive in our time. I know what kind of damage he can do to a defense. He is steady. He is tough. He is as tough as they come. He is a hard guy to match up with. You try to play man on him, and he wins those matchups. You play zone on him, and he will pick you apart. There are not a ton of weaknesses he really has. He is a tough guy to defend.”
On the atmosphere playing on Monday Night Football, given last year’s matchup:
“I think it will be a good atmosphere. Outside of that, we have so many new guys and they have had a lot of changeover, too. I think last year’s game is irrelevant.”
On what NY Jets RB Le’Veon Bell brings to the team and if he notices a difference in Bell after not playing last year:
“When I look at him after that first game, it does not look like he took a season off. He played every play. He played as good as you can ask anybody to play. He was an impact player for us and had a great grab on a touchdown, an unbelievable play on a two-point conversion. The 4th-and-1 conversion he had, I do not think I have ever seen someone get hit 2 yards in the backfield and somehow get the first down with really just kind of leaning forward. What he does for us offensively is he opens up a lot of different windows for us because you have to comprehend both in the running game and the passing game. He does a great job of protection. We saw those things in the first game.”
On preparing to try to eliminate the Browns DL:
“I think it is hard to eliminate those guys. Even last week if you just watch that group, they were causing all kinds of problems. You just have to try and do a good job of keeping those guys covered up. You have to do a good anytime you got double teams on making sure that you stick with that particular guy. We have to win more of our one-on-one match-ups than they do. It is a very difficult group to gameplan against and it is a difficult group to try and minimize their production because somebody is going to find a way to slip through the cracks and make plays.”
On challenges facing DE Myles Garrett:
“It starts with his get off. It is about as good as you get. It always seems like he is one step ahead of everybody else. His ability to pursue the ball, when he really kicks it into gear, it is impressive to watch. He has natural football instincts. He is one of those guys that the longer he plays, the tougher he is going to be to defend. He is one of those guys that is just ready to become one of those elite players. Experience is the only thing and he is just going to keep gaining that, and that is only going to make him a better player.”
On if Williams can help the NY Jets offense with the gameplan:
“He can tell me certain things, but I mean they are running a different defense. There are some different guys on that side of the ball. The only thing he can really tell me is how smart some of those guys are and that is not like one of those where I am like, ‘Oh, great, that is good to know.’ He likes a lot of those guys on that side of the ball. He has had a lot of positives things to say about them. It is hard to really pick any of those guys apart. There are some good players on that side.”
On Williams personality and his sense for Williams’ personal mindset entering this game, given Williams was the Browns’ interim head coach last year:
“He has not kind of really said anything like that to me. He has been focused on just really getting ready for this game just like it is any other game. I feel like he has done a really good job of compartmentalizing anything like that that he is feeling. You would not know, whether it is players or coaches, and I think he understands that we are trying to win a game, and really, anything outside of that is irrelevant.”
On why he wanted Williams as the NY Jets defensive coordinator:
“I have known Gregg for 10 years. He was a guy I was interested in a few years back when he went there (Cleveland) and when we lost our defensive coordinator to become a head coach. Going against him it has always been a difficult thing to deal with. You never really knew what you were going to get from game to game. My relationship with him over time, I was excited to get the opportunity to work with him. I feel like he is somebody that I am able to learn from week in and week out. He is somebody that takes a lot off my plate. I never really have to worry about anything on that side of the ball. He does a great job of handling everything. Nothing ever gets to my desk. I feel like his guys are always ready to go. They are always prepared. I have really enjoyed my time with Gregg.”
On how Williams’ defenses cause so many turnovers:
“The fact that they constantly preach it, they work on it and they practice it. Everything they do in practice is based around it. They put our guys in the right position as far as it is in their DNA. That is how Gregg has always been. He has never been a big stat guy. He cares about turnovers, and he cares about doing well on third down and doing well in the red area. I think he has the right mindset. He does not worry about yards and things like that. It is about trying to get the ball for the offense, trying to create a shorter field and trying to stop a team from getting into the end zone.”
On balancing being aggressive with blitzes but not too aggressive, given Mayfield’s skillset against pressure:
“Gregg has been doing this for a minute. He has a good idea of what to do and when to do it. He has a good feel for when he needs to blitz, when he needs to back off, when he needs to play coverage or when he needs to rush three. That experience comes in handy. He has played so many quarterbacks in his life that he understands how he needs to call the game and what our guys execute well.”
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